Here’s to TV, etc.

TV Toaster is a blog dedicated to reviews of movies (some new), TV shows (mostly old), and music (we prefer the classics). We also feature quotes, favorite scenes, and other goodies that catch my eye and keep me amused.

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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Previously, while using Windows Media Player, I’ve noticed that after I play a CD, it gives me the option to play all music.

I have a lot of music, and so this has proven to be a nice feature: it keeps playing (instead of me having to select a new set when the current set finishes), and since it picks from different folders, I get to hear an assortment of genres. It’s kind of like commercial-free radio that plays songs I know like. 😀

But recently, when my CD drive was broken, I searched on-line for a way to replicate this Play All feature. Alas, I couldn’t find one that didn’t involve categorizing each song, etc.

Also, in the search results, I didn’t see the Play-a-CD option, so I thought I’d post this FYI here:

1) I play a CD.
2) I have Windows Media Player on “Now Playing” (not “Library”).
3) I leave that WMP box open as the CD finishes. When I eject the CD, WMP offers the Play All Music option.

Sometimes a song lyric, or even a certain piece of music, really resonates with a listener. A few personal examples:

~ “I forgot how nice romance is.” (“The Longest Time” by Billy Joel) To me, in that part of the song, he’s about to risk taking a chance on love, and he decides it’s worth it. “I forgot how nice romance is” reflects that he’s pleasantly reminded that taking a chance on love can pay off.

~ “Ready to run through the sweet southern pines.” (“Alabama Song” by Allison Moorer.) Being from Alabama, I can relate to this whole song. But as I’m driving on a summer day, and I see the sun shining through the trees in the woods next to me, I feel the same as when the singer passionately pines (pun intended) of being “ready to run… through the sweet southern pines.”

~ I *love* the opening music of Dire Straits’ song “Money for Nothing.” Something about that arrangement… I can just close my eyes and be taken to another place – if only for the brief moment while it plays.

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In “I Saw The Sign” by Ace of Bass, one of the lines says:

Why do I bother, when you’re not the one for me?

I remember hearing that back when I was fretting over some guy who acted as if he liked me only to switch to being distant and cold when I’d return the interest. I remember noticing that line specifically, and it was so freeing. It was like, “Yeah! WHY am I BOTHERING?”

Even now when I hear that song, that line reminds me not to waste my time on someone who won’t waste his time on me.

One of my favorite 90s songs is Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me) by Blessid Union Of Souls. At first the words give the impression that the singer is bragging about all the things he is, and that’s why “she” likes him. But, mixed in, he seems to be celebrating the fact that she sees the real him – and still loves him. He even ponders, quite transparently, at one point why she “wastes all her time” with him.

But my favorite line is:

“She likes me for me,Not becauseI hang with LeonardoOr that guy who played in Fargo –I think his name was Steve.”

I like this line because he’s revealing how it’s good that she *doesn’t* like him for who he knows, because he is so far out of the A-list crowd [or whatever crowd Steve’s in] that he isn’t even sure of the guy’s name!

I also like this line because it sounds like he gets distracted, like he’s off “chasing a rabbit,” which is something I can totally relate to. In fact, as I’m singing along with the song when it plays on the radio, when it gets to the “I think his name was…” line, I ponderously touch my chin, tilt my head to the side, and look off into the heavens, as if I, too, am distracted by racking my brain trying to recall the guy’s name.

Being a fan of obsessive, stalker-y music, Darren Hayes’ song “Creepin’ Up On You” is one of my favorites.

But – and yes, I know I’m overthinking it – one of the lines says:

If I had to live without you — nobody could

“Nobody could”… and yet, lots of people do. In fact, given the # of people on the planet, you could safely say that the vast majority of people do!

So, that argument for being a stalker is rendered null and void.

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In the song “Imaginary Lover” by Atlanta Rhythm Section, the singer describes – in a somewhat obsessive tone – the bliss of, basically, a relationship that’s all in your head. At one point, as if overcome by how awesome it is, he observes with conviction:

“Imagination’s unreal!”

That’s a clever way to sum up the whole song. He’s playing on a popular expression and praising the imaginings, but at the same time there’s a bittersweet note of truth. Imagination IS unreal, and however you might enjoy the thoughts, they’re bound to lose their appeal because there’s no substance.

In the song “Something Happened On The Way To Heaven” by Phil Collins, there’s a line that says:

“I don’t know; I don’t have all the answers.”

I heard the song not too long ago, and I’ve thought of that line several times recently when I’ve been tempted to fret over something that’s out of my control. I find just thinking of those words freeing; I feel like the singer is saying he’s not holding himself to that impossible standard of understanding everything that’s going on in his life. At the same time, the way Phil sings that line – in my mind anyway – it sounds optimistic, as if he’s responding to someone who’s trying to bring him down (you know, like those fretting voices in your head) by admitting his shortcoming, but not being held back by it.